1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic keyboard instrument wherein a keyboard unit and a sound-generating unit are held by an instrument frame.
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there have been proposed electronic keyboard instruments in which a keyboard unit including a keyboard section and a sound-generating unit including speakers are formed in separate bodies. In an electronic keyboard instrument in general, a keyboard unit and a sound-generating unit are secured to a keybed provided on an instrument frame. The keybed does not only hold the keyboard unit and the sound-generating unit, but also reinforces the instrument frame.
An electronic keyboard instrument has also been proposed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2002-244661, in which the bottom of a keyboard unit forms a keybed, and a sound-generating unit is secured to the bottom of the keyboard unit (first prior art).
Another electronic keyboard instrument has been proposed in Japanese Utility Model Publication (KOKOKU) No. S62-46232, in which a keyboard unit is removably mounted on an instrument frame (second prior art).
However, the conventional electronic keyboard units still remain to be improved in the arrangement of the keyboard unit and the sound-generating unit, as well as in the mechanism that hold these parts.
That is, in general, the keyboard unit and the sound-generating unit are not intended to be removed or replaced with other types, and therefore the associated instrument frame is also designed specifically for a particular type of electronic keyboard instrument.
Further, even if the sound-generating unit is configured to be replaceable with another type, for example, it is not easy to carry out the replacing operation of the sound-generating unit if the sound-generating unit is secured to a keybed or the bottom of a keyboard unit with screws from below, as illustrated by an example in the first prior art. Depending on the arrangement, it is difficult to mount or remove the sound-generating unit separately or singly, or it is necessary to remove the keyboard unit to allow replacement of the sound-generating unit.
Furthermore, if the keyboard unit contains a main circuit, for example, the keybed can be an obstacle to wiring between the keyboard unit and the sound-generating unit, making it difficult to carry out wiring.